Irish Sea Tunnel
The Irish Sea Tunnels are various projects that are intended to create a tunnel connection between Ireland and Great Britain under the Irish Sea . So far there is no such tunnel.
In the past, they were mostly proposed for political reasons. While the creation seems technically possible, the profitability is hardly to be expected in the near future.
variants
A total of four variants are discussed; the two northern lines are referred to as the north channel lines .
It is the
- Kintyrelinie ( Campbeltown -North East ( County Antrim ))
- Galloway Line ( Stranraer - Belfast )
- Irish Mail Line ( Holyhead - Dublin )
- Tuskar Line ( Fishguard - Rosslare )
A fifth line across the Isle of Man would consist of two tunnels but was never seriously considered because of its length and unfavorable geology.
North Canal Line I (Kintyre variant)
The North Channel Line is the shortest route at around 12 miles and runs from Mull of Kintyre to County Antrim . However, it would be poorly connected and would have to circumnavigate the Firth of Clyde through mountainous terrain; further tunnels would also be necessary.
Should the tunnel be realized, a detour via Glasgow of around 250 km would have to be accepted on the London-Belfast route. Even after the completion of High Speed 2 , the travel time by train would not be less than four hours.
North Canal Line II (Galloway variant)
This line would run from Portpatrick to a coastline on Belfast Bay .
It would be 34 km long and would be financially supported by the UK , the Irish Government and the EU . This tunnel would be deeper than the others through the Beaufort's Dyke Sea Trench with a depth of around 200-300 m.
Travelers to Belfast in particular would benefit from the line: the London-Belfast route would then be around 750 km long and could be covered in 3½ hours with high-speed trains. Even after Dublin this line would be advantageous for many British cities; however, with 5 hours of travel time from London, it would be difficult to compete with air traffic on that route.
Irish Mail line
Another option would be to follow the traditional post shipping routes from North Wales ( Holyhead ) to Dublin ( Dún Laoghaire ). The tunnel for this route would have to be around 100 km long.
The main axis London – Dublin would be directly connected and could also compete with air traffic in high-speed operation. Manchester and Birmingham are also on this line. The distance would be about 550 km and could be covered in about 2½ hours.
Tuskar line
The Institute of Engineers of Ireland recommended a tunnel between the ports of Fishguard (Wales) and Rosslare (Ireland) in 2004 in “Vision of Transport in Ireland 2050”. The report proposes a new transshipment port on the Shannon Estuary to accommodate a shipping route to Europe and a high-speed train connection Belfast-Dublin- Cork .
Some of the dam construction proposals for a proposed Severn tidal power plant include the possibility of carrying a road and rail link between Cardiff and Bristol . This could shorten and favor the Tuskar line.
Although the routes London – Dublin and London – Belfast could compete with air traffic, the connection would be of little interest to many British cities further north.
history
A tunnel linking Ireland and Great Britain was first proposed in 1879, with the British contributing £ 15,000 to see if the tunnel was feasible. The connection would have brought a strong trade advantage at the time and was very interesting in terms of war strategy.
Sixty years later, Harford Hyde, a member of Parliament for North Belfast, again called for the tunnel to be built.
With the completion of the Eurotunnel in 1994, the technical hurdles of such a tunnel were overcome. Even if the costs were exceeded by more than 100% and the frequency of use does not meet the forecasts, the feasibility is shown. The construction of the tunnel has been discussed several times in the Irish and British Parliament. In 2018, politicians from the Democratic Unionist Party , which supports the Tory minority government in Westminster, again called for the construction of the northern route, which would be particularly beneficial for Northern Ireland.
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Great Manx Tunnel. ( Memento of the original from April 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. July 30, 2007.
- ^ A Vision of Transport in Ireland in 2050. IEI report (pdf) , The Irish Academy of Engineers, December 21, 2004.
- ^ Tunnel Under the Sea. In: The Washington Post. May 2, 1897. (Archive link)
- ↑ Wesley Boyd: An Irishman's Diary In: The Irish Times February 2004 (subscription required)
- ↑ Written Answers. - Sea Transport, (Link) ( Memento of the original from March 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Dáil Éireann - Volume 384 - November 16, 1988
- ↑ Written Answers. - Irish Sea Railway Ferry, (Link) ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Dáil Éireann - Volume 434 - October 19, 1993
- ↑ Written Answers. - Ireland-UK Tunnel, (Link) ( Memento of the original dated June 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Dáil Éireann - Volume 517 - March 29, 2000
- ↑ Written Answers - Transport Projects, (Link) ( Memento of the original from June 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Dáil Éireann - Volume 597 - February 15, 2005
- ↑ IRISH CHANNEL TUNNEL.
- ^ Bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland could be built . In: Metro . January 24, 2018 ( metro.co.uk [accessed March 31, 2018]).
